cases. The patient marked for redressing was placed on any table, and
the surgeon in charge of that table redressed the wound; thus it was
hard to say what result one or the other had obtained, with the
exception of a few cases, which by special request one was allowed to
continue to observe. Some of the patients came down with their wounds
dressed in some hospital at the front, and I may here mention that I saw
excellent work coming from the hospital in command of Dr. Woods.
When the rush was over, I was called to the camp where the Spanish
prisoners were located. I prescribed for their ailments, while the
Sisters supplied their food. In addition, I answered the calls which
came from Cuban families in Siboney. Some Spanish prisoners were wounded
and others suffered from fevers. Those who were wounded had their wounds
dressed at the scene of battle, and although some of the dressings were
temporary, they feared to have any person touch them, until assured that
they would be treated as gently as possible. The patients had now all
been operated upon and attended; only some of the wounds needed
redressing. They were taken to the transport hospital ships as soon as
their condition permitted. It was about that time the hospital ship
Relief arrived, bringing more food for invalids and more equipped cots.
Dr. Guiteras, who visited all the hospitals daily, informed me one
afternoon that he had found a case of yellow fever in camp (not in our
hospital), developed in a place near Siboney. There were two or more
suspicious cases which he had watched, and he believed that yellow fever
would develop very rapidly. I called the Sisters together, presented the
situation to them, that they might decide whether to stay in the field
or return to the "State of Texas." Their unanimous decision to stay and
face the consequences made them continue their work without any
hesitation. The Red Cross Hospital building became crowded, one room was
set aside for doubtful cases, while the other rooms were occupied with
typhoid patients. The porch in front of the house, shaded with canvas,
and a little isolated room to the right, sheltered the wounded.
My work at the Red Cross Hospital became continuous, as a large number
of patients came from the various camps to receive attention, and still
a larger number from our camp came for consultation and treatment. The
number of such consultations I discontinued to write down after three
hundred were attended, Americans, Spanish and Cubans together.
[Illustration: THE BURNING OF SIBONEY--RED CROSS HOSPITAL IN THE
FOREGROUND.]
Every case of typhoid fever and other disease which was placed in our
charge from the day we opened the hospital, has recovered. The last of
them were brought home well on the "Concho;" those that came later were
on the way to recovery when I left for the fever hospital. Among our
patients were two who had measles, complicated with pneumonia, and there
was a large number of patient suffering with Cuban malarial fever. I
also wish to state that not one patient in our hospital became infected
with yellow fever; the cases that had it came there with the disease,
but were closely observed, and as soon as the first positive sign was
noticed, they were isolated and brought to the fever hospital. The
total number of sick permanent and transient thus attended was 234. Most
of the medicines we had brought with us, but received some from army
stores.
When the "State of Texas" left for Jamaica to get ice, in order to save
time we took a dwelling in one of the houses at Siboney, which was
believed by experts not to be infected. The family living in it was very
clean, and it appeared that the house would serve as well, and perhaps
better than any other. Our tents, in which we should have preferred to
live, had not arrived, nor did we have any cots, all having been given
to the sick and wounded.
When the houses at Siboney were ordered to be burned down, we left for
the yellow fever camp. Before leaving I requested Dr. Senn to operate
upon two Spanish prisoners whom I had not seen for several days.
On the seventh day after our arrival at the camp we were able to return
to Siboney. Our ailments, although not prevented, had been made light by
prophylactic methods, and our recovery was consequently rapid. After our
return to Siboney I again offered to serve.
In the meantime word from Assistant Surgeon-General Greenleaf was
received at Siboney, stating that forty-five Red Cross nurses, surgeons
and other assistants, had arrived at Guantanamo, waiting to come to us,
and as we returned the same day from the fever camp, Surgeon-Major La
Garde telegraphed and telephoned repeatedly for them to come, but he
received no reply.
Feeling that under the existing circumstances and exhausted from work
and illness we could not continue to work without more assistance, I
applied for our return. Surgeon-Major La Garde upon this placed me in
charge of the steamship "Concho" which left for the North on July 23, of
which voyage a special report has been presented.
Before my departure from Siboney, Surgeon-Major La Garde handed me a
document, a copy of which I herewith present:
RESERVE DIVISIONAL HOSPITAL, FIFTH CORPS,
SIBONEY, CUBA, _July 23, 1898_.
This is to certify that Dr. A. Monae Lesser, surgeon-in-chief of the
American National Red Cross, offered his services to the Medical
Department of the army on the twenty-ninth day of June. From the
latter date to the present day Dr. Lesser has been connected with
this hospital as a surgeon and patient. When the wounded commenced
to arrive on July 1, and during the rush of work which lasted four
days in the care of the wounded, Dr. Lesser was assigned one of the
six tables in the operating room. His work was skillful and most
continuous. His suggestions to me on more than one occasion,
concerning administration details, were of the highest value. After
the rush of work in the operating room Dr. Lesser continued to take
charge of a hospital, a building which was pronounced free from
infection, in which he treated wounded and sick soldiers. His work
was the admiration of every one who had the good fortune to be under
the watchful care of himself and the Sisters under him.
Unfortunately the building--in which they lived--soon showed signs
of yellow fever infection. Dr. Lesser, his wife and four of the
Sisters--his entire staff--were taken one by one with the fever.
They were removed to our yellow fever hospital. They are now
convalescing, though weak; they leave us for the North to-day for a
much needed rest. I have no words at my command which could in any
way express my appreciation of the work of Dr. Lesser and his heroic
staff. Had it not been for their assistance and the quantities of
supplies furnished by the "State of Texas," the sufferings of the
hundreds of wounded would have been magnified more than I can now
venture to express.
In commenting on our lack of supplies, attendants, etc., I desire to
state that our unprepared condition to meet the rush of work which
came with such surprising rapidity was due to those military
conditions which often transpire in war when blood, suffering and
death seem to be inevitable, or beyond the scope of man to
anticipate.
May God's blessing be with him and his.
LOUIS A. LA GARDE,
_Major and Surgeon, U.S.A.,
Commanding Hospital._
RELIEF WORK IN CUBA.
REPORT OF C.H.H. COTTRELL, FINANCIAL SECRETARY.
Early in February, 1898, after the President of the United States had
called Clara Barton to several conferences on the question of relieving
the sufferings of the Cuban reconcentrados; and the Central Cuban Relief
Committee had been formed to take charge of the funds and supplies which
it was known that the generous American people were anxious to donate
for this purpose, it was decided that Miss Barton should go to Cuba at
once to assist in the prompt and efficient distribution of the succor
which was so near at hand. It is her habit to act quickly when her plans
have been matured, and not a moment's time was lost in preparing for her
journey to Havana.
On her arrival at Havana Miss Barton communicated with the American
Consul General, the Spanish officials, and some of the best known and
benevolently disposed citizens; and after freely conferring with them,
and learning the existing conditions, the city was divided into
distribution districts, and a committee of citizens, who were fully
acquainted with the people and their wants, was appointed to take charge
of each district. Abundant space in a very large warehouse had already
been secured by the Consul General, which was, with the use of its
employes, given free of charge to the Red Cross.
Several of the villages near Havana and as far east as Matanzas were
then visited and arrangements similar to those made in Havana were
perfected for the distribution of food and clothing; and these
communities were supplied as quickly as possible.
Shortly after Miss Barton's arrival in Havana the deplorable "Maine"
disaster occured, killing, drowning and injuring so many of our brave
sailors and marines. As soon as she heard of this awful calamity she
visited the hospital where the victims who were not killed outright were
lying, and arranged to have them provided with every possible attention,
and the best of everything needed that money and sympathy could procure.
As the situation developed and the needs of the country became known, it
was found to be necessary to largely increase the working force of the
Red Cross, and arrangements were accordingly made to have some of the
oldest and most experienced workers of that organization, with some new
recruits, come to Havana. A large house for their accommodation was
secured in the suburb of Cerro, about three miles from the business
centre of the city, where they were pleasantly and comfortably
established. The party when completed consisted of the following named
ladies and gentlemen:
Miss Clara Barton, Mr. J.K. Elwell, Dr. J.B. Hubbell, Dr. E. Winfield
Egan, Dr. A. Monae Lesser, Mrs. A. Monae Lesser, known as "Sister
Bettina," Misses Annie McCue, Minnie Rogall, Blanche McCorresten and
Isabelle Olm, Red Cross nurses or "sisters;" Mr. J. A. McDowell and Mr.
C.H.H. Cottrell.
Many of the best citizens of Havana, ladies and gentlemen, Spaniards and
Cubans, gave us a most hearty welcome and every encouragement, many of
them volunteering their services in any capacity in which they could be
made useful, and we were thus enabled to secure a number of doctors and
nurses, who gave excellent service, and who received the well-deserved
thanks of the Red Cross.
RELIEF DISTRIBUTION FROM THE SAN JOSÉ WAREHOUSE.
Mr. Elwell was put in charge of the warehouse with an able corps of
assistants, and his work there was all that could be desired, as it was
something that he was perfectly familiar with from long experience; he
had the great advantage of knowing the Spanish language and the
character of the people with whom he was dealing. Many hundred tons of
the finest supplies, including everything that a generous and
sympathetic public could think of that would be suitable for a famishing
people, were given out as fast as orders were issued for them; but in
every instance the utmost care was exercised that nothing should go out
that might reach the hands of irresponsible persons; and every possible
safeguard of check and receipt was adopted and successfully used.
OPENING A HOSPITAL AND ORPHANAGE.
The large number of orphan children that had been left unprovided for
appealed to the sympathies of some worthy people for whom Consul-General
Lee was the spokesman, and Miss Barton was asked by them to provide a
hospital and home for these waifs. She therefore rented and furnished a
large private residence on Tulipan street in Cerro, near the Red Cross
residence, which was opened and named the "Lee Orphanage." The house was
completely arranged and had a capacity for seventy-five inmates, besides
the attendants, and it was soon filled. Dr. and Mrs. Lesser were placed
in charge of the orphanage, assisted by several Cuban doctors and
nurses. The greater part of the children who were brought there were in
an extreme state of exhaustion from lack of nourishment, many being
unable to sit up, and the greatest care and watchfulness had to be
observed to save their lives. A few of them died after they reached the
hospital; but by careful and unremitting attention the larger part of
them were gradually brought back to health, and it is to be hoped that
some of them will eventually find homes in good families.
LOS FOSOS, THE HORRIBLE!
An old ramshackle building long before abandoned as unsafe and
undesirable was owned by the city and known as Los Fosos. Being
worthless and unwatched, it had become the lodging place of a horde of
beggars and tramps, and when the unfortunate reconcentrados were driven
into the city from their homes in the country hundreds of them flocked
to this miserable place. Miss Barton found there men, women and children
crowded together in a most pitiable and disgusting mass; and suffering
from disease and exhaustion and in such a state of filth that her party
was unable to endure the stench and had to get out after a very short
stay. These poor victims of cruel war were lying on the bare floor in
their dirty rags, and entirely helpless except for such poor aid as they
could render each other. Many of them died daily and their corpses would
lie for hours before being removed. Altogether it was one of the most
horrible pictures imaginable.
Permission was obtained by the Red Cross to repair the building and make
a hospital of it, and carpenters were put to work to strengthen the
swaying floors and batten up the sides and make the roof rainproof.
Three rooms were partitioned off for a dispensary, store room and
kitchen. Scrub women were put to work and a plentiful supply of soap,
water and disinfectants soon made a great change for the better. When
the place had been cleansed, new cots were brought in and clean bedding
put on them. Up to the time of their forced departure those devoted
nurses worked faithfully from early morn till late in the day to keep
the place decently clean and instill habits of neatness into those
miserable beings. Deprived of the pride and care of those trained women,
it is easy to believe that within a week after they left, Los Fosos had
resumed its former reputation as the most unsavory spot in all Havana.
During the time that Los Fosos was under the care of the Red Cross the
best medical skill obtainable was given to the inmates, and the untiring
care and attention of as faithful a body of trained nurses as the world
has ever known was freely given them, and the best of nourishing food
and delicacies were abundantly supplied; and if fate had willed that
this body of self-sacrificing men and women should remain, there is no
doubt that, in the course of time, this old pesthouse would have become
a famous hospital with a reputation second to none.
RELIEF WORK DISCONTINUED.
One of the most comprehensive systems of charitable work had been thus
inaugurated and was doing incalculable good, and was receiving praise
and gratitude from all classes, when it was announced that the official
relations between Spain and the United States, which had been strained
for some time, were about to be broken. The American Consul-General
announced that he did not think that it was safe for American citizens
to remain in Cuba while the excited state of feeling existed, and that
he should leave on a certain day, and he advised all Americans in Cuba
who wished to go to the States that he would provide transportation for
them. The time given for settling affairs and preparing to leave was
less than a week, and accordingly there was much excitement and great
sacrifices had to be made, which in many cases meant ruin and beggary.
Quite a number of the refugees afterward became entirely dependent upon
the bounty of the Red Cross at Key West and Tampa, Florida.
When it thus became necessary to decide whether the Red Cross should
abandon its work in Cuba, Miss Barton called her staff around her (as
is her invariable custom in deciding all important matters), and asked
for their individual opinions as to the advisability of their leaving,
and a full discussion of all the points involved ensued, and a unanimous
decision was arrived at. All Spanish officials, national and municipal,
had never failed to show the utmost courtesy to all our members, and
time after time they had shown their sincerity by repeated acts of
kindness, and none of us believed that they were likely to change their
attitude toward us. But when it was considered that war was almost
inevitable, and that if we remained in Cuba we should be shut up in an
enemy's country and unable to communicate with our friends and
relatives, who would be daily harrowed by sensational stories, it was
decided that we should withdraw when the Consul-General was ready to
leave.
When it became known that we were about to leave Miss Barton received
some very hearty assurances of regard and protection from high Spanish
officials, and many Spanish and Cuban ladies and gentlemen called on her
and assured her of their high regard and deep gratitude for all she had
done for their suffering people.
ARCHBISHOP OF HAVANA BLESSES LEE ORPHANAGE.
The day before we were to leave Cuba the Archbishop of Havana came to
the Lee Orphanage, where quite a number of the best people of the city
had assembled, and gave his blessing to the little institution; which
was, with those Catholic people, an augury equivalent to a guaranty that
the success and protection of the undertaking was fully assured; and,
indeed, we learned several months after the war had begun that the
Spanish authorities had not only taken the most scrupulous care of this
hospital, and all its abundance of provisions with which the Cuban
Relief Committee had supplied it, but they had also placed a guard
around Miss Barton's residence and had kept it inviolate from all
predatorily disposed persons. After the war some of our party visited
the residence and the orphanage, and found provisions which had been
left at both places were still on hand.
Of course it was to be expected that the hospital, being deprived of the
example of the trained Red Cross nurse, with her habits of order and
neatness, would naturally retrograde in many ways, and our party
therefore was prepared for the many evidences of neglect and disorder
that met their eyes on their return visit.
The Central Cuban Relief Committee, of New York, which had been
appointed by the President of the United States, had abundant means to
maintain this work that had been so successfully inaugurated, and it is
greatly deplored that the unfortunate declaration of war prevented the
carrying out of all the plans that had been so carefully matured, and
which would have saved the lives of thousands of men, women and children
who now lie under the sod.
Having made the best possible arrangement for the maintenance of the
institutions we had brought into being and had fostered in Havana; and
with the saddest regrets that we should have to abandon a work so well
begun, we boarded the ship "Olivette" on April 11, and started for the
United States. After a great deal of discomfort, caused by the
overcrowding of passengers and the heavy seas, we reached Tampa, Fla.,
on April 13. After a day or two of rest, Miss Barton proceeded to
Washington with Drs. Hubbell and Egan, the remainder of the party
stopping in Tampa.
There were at that time probably about fifteen hundred Cuban refugees in
Tampa and eight or nine hundred in Key West, who were entirely
dependent. The Red Cross took upon itself the task of maintaining these
poor people, and for a period of seven months its agents provided for
them. It should be said, however, that the citizens of both these cities
appointed committees and did all they could to relieve the necessities
of these large bodies of indigent people.
Early in April it had been decided to charter a steamer in New York and
to load her with supplies and send her to different ports in Cuba, where
her cargo could be unloaded in such quantities as might be required.
Accordingly, the steamer "State of Texas," of about eighteen hundred
tons burden, was chartered from Messrs. Mallory & Co., of New York, and
notwithstanding the fact that our party had been obliged to leave
Havana, and that subsequently war had been declared, the preparations
for sailing were kept up, and the steamer was loaded with a cargo of
fourteen hundred tons, which embraced a fine assortment of substantials
and delicacies, and many household articles, medicines and hospital
stores. When she was finally loaded in the latter part of April, the
"Texas" sailed for Key West in charge of Dr. J.B. Hubbell, with Captain
Frank Young as sailing master, arriving there on the twenty-eighth of
that month.
RECEPTION AT TAMPA.
In the meantime, Dr. Jos. Gardner and wife, of Bedford, Ind., had joined
our party at Tampa; and soon after Miss Barton, Dr. Egan, Mr. D.L. Cobb
and Miss Lucy M. Graves came along, and it was arranged that the entire
party was to leave Tampa on the evening of April 28, to go aboard the
steamer "State of Texas," at Key West, and remain on her until the army
had made a landing in Cuba, when it was expected that we should be able
to resume our work there. The day of the evening we were to leave Tampa,
Mrs. J.M. Towne, the lady at whose house our party was stopping, gave a
reception in honor of Miss Barton, to which General Wade and the army
officers who were then stationed there, and many ladies and gentlemen of
that fine little city, were invited. It was a most brilliant and
enjoyable occasion, the uniforms of the officers and the lovely toilets
of the ladies making a picture that will long remain in the memories of
those who saw it.
THE RELIEF PARTY RETURNS TO KEY WEST.
On our arrival at Key West, on the afternoon of April 29, we were met by
Dr. Hubbell and Mr. C.C. Bangs, who had been sent by the New York
committee to assist in our work; and Mr. A. Butler Duncan, a well-known
gentleman of New York, and were taken aboard the steamer "State of
Texas," where we were welcomed by Captain Young, and where we
subsequently passed many pleasant weeks together. A few days later we
were joined by Mr. Geo. Kennan, First Vice-President of the American
National Red Cross, and his wife.
Key West at that time was a very busy place, the harbor being filled
with naval vessels which came in there daily from the Cuban blockading
squadron for coal and provisions. Miss Barton immediately paid her
respects to Captain Harrington, of the monitor "Puritan," who was the
senior commander of the port, and presented her credentials from the
State and Navy Departments. Subsequently she placed herself in
communication with Commodore Sampson, and stated her desire to reach
Cuba at the earliest possible moment.
Many naval officers and citizens of Key West called on Miss Barton
daily, and this attention, combined with her enormous correspondence,
kept her time fully occupied till late in the night. There was scarcely
a day that some accident of more or less severity did not happen to
some of the sailors or workmen on the many auxiliary craft that were in
the harbor; and the Red Cross doctors were at all times in demand. In
order to keep every one in the best preparation for possible
contingencies of any kind, everybody on the ship was instructed and
drilled in the various phases of his or her particular kind of work; and
thus all were kept happily and busily engaged. The doctors inaugurated a
series of lectures for the benefits of the nurses and others, and
clinics were of frequent occurrence, and every member of the party
benefited by the practical knowledge thus attained in bandaging and
taking care of various kinds of injuries.